4/13/2017
SLD Webinar 5: Oral
Expression and Listening
Comprehension
March 2017
Objectives
Increase your understanding in:

Making considerations for students with language based
difficulties during an evaluation for a specific learning
disability.
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Oral Expression and
Listening Comprehension
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4/13/2017
Poll
What is your experience in completing an eligibility
determination under Specific Learning Disability in Oral
Expression or Listening Comprehension?
- None
- I have completed this eligibility determination before
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SLD Guidance Tool
Idaho Training Clearinghouse
Idaho SESTA Resources
Specific Learning Disability
Fall 2016
SLD Guidance Tool
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Oral Expression

The ability to convey wants, needs, thoughts, and ideas
in a meaningful way using appropriate syntactic,
pragmatic, semantic, and phonological language
structures.
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Oral Expression
This relates to the student’s ability to express ideas,

explain thinking, retell stories, categorize, and compare
and contrast concepts and/or problem-solve verbally.
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Oral Expression
Students experiencing oral expression difficulties might

exhibit the following challenges:
- Learning vocabulary
- Formulating complete, semantically and grammatically correct
sentences (spoken or written)
- Explaining word associations such as antonyms/synonyms
- Retelling, making inferences and predictions
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Listening Comprehension

Refers to the understanding of the implications and
explicit meanings of words and sentences of spoken
language.
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Listening Comprehension

This relates to the student’s abilities to follow directions,
comprehend questions including listening and
comprehending in order to learn. It also relates to the
student’s ability in making connections with previous
learning.
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Listening Comprehension

Students experiencing listening comprehension difficulties
might exhibit the following challenges:
- Following directions
- Understanding oral narratives and text
- Answering questions about the content of information given
- Critical thinking leading to logical answers
- Word associations such as antonyms/synonyms, categorizing, and
classifying
- Note-taking or dictation
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Roles and Responsibility
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Poll

Does your school’s SLP participate in the problemsolving process when needed?
- Yes
- No
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Problem Solving Team

Membership could include:
- General education teachers
- Administrator
- Counselor
- Instructional Specialist
- Others as determined appropriate by the LEA
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Problem Solving Team

If language concerns arise, the team should consider
consulting their school’s SLP

SLP might provide guidance in implementation of
language-based interventions as well as tools for
monitoring progress
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4/13/2017
Questions to Consider

Do the interventions target the identified language
concerns and if not, how does the team plan to address
those intervention needs during the evaluation?

How are the language concerns impacting the student’s
classroom performance?
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Intervention Examples

Comprehensive systematic reading curriculum which
includes:
- Phonemic awareness
- Phonics
- Fluency
- Vocabulary
- Comprehension
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Intervention Examples

Direct instruction related to:
- Narrative language
- Sequential story retell
- Direct teaching of listening
strategies
- Visualization techniques
- Rubrics
- Word order
- Generating questions
- Word sorts
- Following directions
- Verbal exchanges
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Progress Monitoring

Language sample

Narrative language measures

Mean length of utterance
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Progress Monitoring

Track the number of correct
productions/responses:
- Recalling details
- Answering questions
- Following directions
- Identifying word function or
category
- Verbal exchanges
- Identifying synonyms or antonyms
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Evaluation Team

When considering a SLD in an academic area, if
language is a concern, the team should rule out Oral
Expression and Listening Comprehension as part of the
student’s evaluation
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Evaluation Team
When considering oral expression and listening

comprehension, a SLP is a required member of the
team.
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Questions to Consider

Was a SLP part of the evaluation team?

Were standardized assessments administered in the
areas of concern (oral expression and listening
comprehension)?
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Academic Assessment Tools
Listening
Comprehension




Clinical Evaluation of Language
Fundamentals - Fifth Edition
(CELF-5)
Oral Expression

The Listening Comprehension Test
– 2nd Edition (LCT-2)

Wechsler Individual Achievement
Test-Third Edition (WIAT-III)

OWLS—Listening Comprehension
Scale (LCS) & Oral Expression
Scale (OES)

Clinical Evaluation of Language
Fundamentals - Fifth Edition
(CELF-5)
Wechsler Individual Achievement
Test-Third Edition (WIAT-III)
OWLS—Listening Comprehension
Scale (LCS) & Oral Expression
Scale (OES)
Woodcock Johnson IV (WJ-IV) –
Oral Language
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Questions to Consider

Did the psychological processing weaknesses
align/support a language based learning disability?

Is the team able to ferret out a language vs. academic
based learning disability?
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Preponderance of
Evidence
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Support Document
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Preponderance of Evidence

Evidence, which consists of accurate data that
establishes it is more likely true than not that the
student has a learning disability based on the accurate
data and evidence gather by the Evaluation team.
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Preponderance of Evidence
Teams might consider the following questions:
- What is known about the student’s oral expression and listening
comprehension during instruction, intervention and problemsolving?
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Preponderance of Evidence

What language-based interventions have been tried to
date?
- Were they implemented with fidelity?
- Did the student attend intervention regularly?
- Was the frequency, duration, and intensity sufficient to meet the
needs of the student?
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Preponderance of Evidence

What has and has not worked to increase oral
expression and listening comprehension in the general
education classroom?
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Preponderance of Evidence

What in the student’s profile leads the team to suspect
a SLD in oral expression or listening comprehension and
the need for special education and related services?
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Poll

What is your comfort level in using the preponderance
of evidence as part of the eligibility determination for
students suspected of having a learning disability?
- I am extremely comfortable and could explain it to a colleague
- I understand the process but could use more guidance.
- I am lost!
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Next Steps

If you are taking this course for credit:
- Complete the quiz with a passing grade (70% or better)
prior to the next webinar

Attend Webinar 6 on 4-20-17 at 4:00 MT/ 3:00 PT
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www.IdahoSESTA.org
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